I Know Your Secret
by TA Maxwell
Summary: A simple case of misinterpretation for Nuriko when a maid says she knows his secret. (Note: There are a few authors notes explaining my delay on two other chapter fics, you can skip them unless you really want to read them or you see your name)


TA: Hm, another spur of the moment story by yours truly! Just some author's notes, Maia is a name picked from the air, I dun claim to own her or anything. She's just there. I dun claim Nuriko (Kourin), Houki, or Hotohori either, because they're Yû Watase's. And…finally represent the thoughts of a character. Thank ya, and enjoy this possibly short fic.  
  
Authors Note : Okay, just a note or two here for my fans (Mystica, Lanen, and Otaku pitcher, along with others who enjoy my Daughter of Suzaku fic) Sorry about the total and complete delay on Daughter of Suzaku and Twins! It's been over a month of pure writers block for me on them because of one very vague episode that I just couldn't continue until I saw it! Well, now I have it for the weekend (arigatou Tsurai-chan!) So expect the next installments to come soon! I swear I won't give up on either fic  
  
1 Mystica: If you are reading this…I have your AIM screen name, and I'd really like to talk with ya! Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews on Twins and Daughter of Suzaku. Otaku Pitcher: e-mail me sometime! I want to talk with you too! Okay, enough notes. I think you get the picture. On to the fic!  
  
I Know Your Secret  
  
"I know your secret…"  
  
Kourin looked up at the servant girl with her whispered words.  
  
"What was that Maia?"  
  
"Lady Kourin…I know your secret."  
  
Kourin gulped. He had been in the palace for at least a year disguised as a woman, and he'd fooled many people long before then. So what was the cause of this one servant girl finding out? He must have slipped once, forgotten to shave off a bit of stubble or something.  
  
"D-do you?" he stuttered. Maia nodded.  
  
"You really shouldn't try hiding it you know. It's perfectly natural."  
  
"P-perfectly natural?" Crossdressing is perfectly natural?  
  
Maia nodded.  
  
"You're not alone. There are others here too."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Many of the girls I work with."  
  
Kourin just blinked.  
  
"So…why tell me this?"  
  
Maia shrugged.  
  
"Well, I feel that feelings shouldn't be left bottled up inside of a person. It's silly to hide things like that."  
  
"You really think so?"  
  
Again, Maia nodded, smoothing out a lump on Kourin's bedsheets.  
  
"You know, Lady Kourin, you can always tell me anything. I swear not to let a word leave this room."  
  
For a moment, Kourin was silent, debating with himself what to say. Finally, he closed his eyes.  
  
"Maia, come over here. You're right. If you swear not to let a word leave this room, I'll tell you everything."  
  
The servant girl lowered the end of the bedsheet in her hand and walked over to Kourin.  
  
"Have a seat." Kourin motioned to a nearby chair. Obediently she did. "Remember, not a word out of this room."  
  
Maia nodded and waited with intent.  
  
"When I was younger, I had a sister whom I loved very much. One day we were out shopping and she paused at a stall while I walked on across a street, thinking she was still just behind me. I heard her call me and looked back. She was running across the road and…just too late I saw the cart. She got ran over and was killed almost instantly. There was nothing anyone could do. Something deep inside me told me that she shouldn't have been the one to die, and I wasn't going to let her. That was when I began dressing like a girl. I wanted Kourin to live and Ryuuen to have died. That's my name, Ryuuen. So I grew up like that, acting like a woman. And I was accepted as that…in another city. For so long I hid away there with my relatives. Then the messengers of his highness came and chose me to come to the palace as a member of the imperial harem, I was thrilled. I really felt like I was a woman. I just want to give Kourin a second chance that she never got."  
  
For a moment there was silence.  
  
"So, there you go! The whole truth! My secret's out; I'm a man! But it's like you said, many of the girls you work with are crossdressers too, right?" Kourin's eyes were shining with pride. Maia just sat there blinking before she stuttered, "Lady Kourin…"  
  
"No need for the Lady part now, right? Now go on, I know you have more work to do."  
  
Slowly, Maia stood and walked to the door.  
  
"Remember, not a word out of this room."  
  
"Yes ma'am, um, sir, um…"  
  
"Whichever."  
  
"Lady Kourin?"  
  
"Yes, Maia?"  
  
"I was talking about your feelings for his highness. Your other secret was…very interesting to  
  
hear though."  
  
From the room four rooms down…  
  
Houki looked up as a piece of ceiling fell onto the book she was reading.  
  
"Lady Houki?" her maid asked. "Do you hear the sound of someone banging their head against the wall?" 


End file.
